Ed Rendell: In hindsight, it was pretty stupid to try to recall Walker, huh?

posted at 4:41 pm on June 6, 2012 by Allahpundit

How stupid was the recall effort? So stupid that even your friendly neighborhood eeyore was laughing about the futility of it nearly a year ago. An actual quote, written during the five minutes of my life to date in which I was feelin’ cocky:

Not only is the outrageous outrage over the collective bargaining bill fated to cool over time, as success stories bubble up in the news and centrist voters realize that the blue-collar apocalypse isn’t at hand, but it turns out a loophole in Wisconsin law will allow Walker to raise unlimited funds for two months to fight the recall effort starting in November. He’ll be armed to the teeth financially, in other words, and Republicans who turned out in droves to re-elect David Prosser in the face of a liberal onslaught will be even more motivated to protect the GOP’s newest hero…

Don’t we want the left to try this, given how likely they are to suffer another humiliating defeat?

Today is the day of gloating, my friends, so consider the box checked. Over to you, Ed Rendell:

“It was a dumb political fight — I would have waited until Walker’s reelection,” Rendell told The Hill when asked if the recall push had been a mistake. The former governor and head of the Democratic National Committee pointed to exit polls that showed a number of independents and Democrats who opposed Walker’s policies nonetheless voted for him because they opposed a recall…

“I don’t think it was quite as devastating a defeat for labor or Democrats as people are construing.” he said. “Don’t discount the Ohio vote. That was on a principle, not on a recall. You might make a case that the Ohio vote was a clear test…. This was a recall, not a straight up and down vote on what Walker did. You don’t try to recall Walker because he’s done something you disagree with. And if you reverse the money I have no doubt Walker would have lost.”

For what it’s worth, a Wall Street Journal piece published on May 20th quoted a number of Dems who insisted they opposed the recall all along. Whether that’s the truth or simple ass-covering at the eleventh hour as Walker’s reelection seemed assured, I leave for you to judge:

Top Democrats now say that when labor groups first raised the specter of a recall, the party’s officials urged their allies in Wisconsin to reconsider. “We told them it was a bad, bad, bad idea,” one Democratic official said.

A union official said both the Democratic National Committee and the Obama campaign expressed reservations. “I don’t know that anyone was enthusiastic about it over there,” the union official said.

Party leaders also counseled against pouring money into a contested primary ahead of the recall election, the Democratic official said.

Mr. Barca, the Wisconsin Assembly minority leader, said he had heard rumblings about the DNC’s displeasure with the recall. But Wisconsin residents weren’t seeking approval from Washington, he said.

I don’t think they had any choice but to try it. They went after Prosser as a proxy for Walker and nearly beat him; they went after Republican state senators and knocked a few of them off, although not enough (at the time) to take back the majority. What would their excuse have been for passing on trying to recall Satan himself? “We can’t win in a famously pro-labor state that’s voted Democratic in every presidential election for 25 years?” Contra Rendell, their real handicap here wasn’t money, it was time. Given the escalation from the Madison protests and the stakes in protecting Walker’s fiscal reforms, conservatives were always going to line up behind him and provide oceans of cash for his defense. The left’s problem was that they couldn’t try to recall Walker during his first year in office, which meant undecideds had time to see for themselves that the collective bargaining reforms worked. The sky didn’t fall; the state’s budget benefited from the move. And amidst all this, they got to watch Greece implode and America’s debt continue to climb because of increasingly onerous and ultimately unsustainable state obligations. Go figure that voters were ready to go to bat for a guy who’s willing to administer tough medicine for their fiscal health.

Via the Tatler, here’s the obligatory “Downfall” parody of last night’s outcome. Exit question: Heaven forbid that O win a second term this fall, but if he does, is Walker now the favorite in 2016? He’s suddenly the gold standard in standing up to entrenched liberal interests in the name of budgetary sanity, and we’re going to need a lot of sanity after Hopenchange v2.0.

Blowback

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Exit question: Heaven forbid that O win a second term this fall, but if he does, is Walker now the favorite in 2016? He’s suddenly the gold standard in standing up to entrenched liberal interests in the name of budgetary sanity, and we’re going to need a lot of sanity after Hopenchange v2.0.

He’s one of the favorites. But let’s not get carried away. Romney will win in November. Walker will have plenty of opportunities to seek the White House in 2020 and beyond.

Heaven forbid that O win a second term this fall, but if he does, is Walker now the favorite in 2016?

I have always argued that Walker would be a major 2016 contender, along with Christie, Pence, Rubio, Jeb Bush, and maybe even Rand Paul. My preference up until now has been Mike Pence, but given how hard Walker took it to the left last night and how effective his reforms have been, I’m giving him a hard look.

The former governor and head of the Democratic National Committee pointed to exit polls that showed a number of independents and Democrats who opposed Walker’s policies nonetheless voted for him because they opposed a recall

More likely they were union members voting for Walker and feeling bad they voted against the Union. Or just people that thought Walker was but better choice but also opposed the Recall. I would never vote against my candidate in a Recall even if I opposed the Recall. I would work to get the Recall process fixed instead.

When the question is phrased, “do you want to hang with the cool guy with greens priveleges everywhere or the geeky misssionary guy?” I’m sure Obama wins.

When you ask tax payers, “do you want to keep funding platinum benies, guaranteed fat retirments, and above average salaries while our government runs up debts and you personally are fincially sinking?” the answer is HELL NO!

Did you ask why, and did this friend have anything to say about WI before the recall?

thebrokenrattle on June 6, 2012 at 5:08 PM

I asked why, and he said people are tired of unions and that they served their purpose back in the day. Yes we talked about the recall before the election and he said the same thing-even if Walker won that it wouldn’t affect 0bama…

The Ohio vote blocked implementation of the rules, so people didn’t get to see how well or poorly they worked. The WI vote happened a year after the rules went into effect.

IOW, having actually seen the rules in effect, the voters liked them. This should scare the hell out of the Demos, because it tells Republicans that they should do this any place where the Democrats can’t use a referendum to block them.

The people of WI, from the left to the right, are basically decent people. Good and fair won over evil last night.
Rendell is still wrong on the “money candy”. He can chew on it all he wants.
Schadenfreude on June 6, 2012 at 4:50 PM

Lol. The left is now “good” only if they vote for your bought tea party Jesus right? I won’t even be surprised if you wingies run him in 16 and win. America as we know her passed away yesterday.
Welcome to the new America where money talks and masses watch.

Allah may I be OT for just a second? Can anyone here spare a comment or two? We really should get last nights open thread to 3000. I mean we only need 34 comments and we’re there. I’ve waited patiently all day, thinking, its just got to get to 3000, Yet there she sits 34 shy. Come on, what do say. One last victory lap. One last big dance. One last hurrah! Anyhow OT.
Thank you Allah.

I’ve been reading these sour grapes all day, generally in the form of Walker outspending Barrett by 7-1. But that is far from the whole story. Walker spent $30-million; Barrett spent $4-million, which looks like 7-1 against. But the Unions also spent nearly $17-million solely against Walker. So we are already up to $21-million against. That is a far cry from the 7-1 bullsweat stories.

The total Walker race, by itself, is accounted at some $63-million. That means that Walker spent $30-million to defend against $33-million spent by his opposition.

If the money was reversed, Mr. Rendell, the Walker blow-out would have been bigger.

The left is now “good” only if they vote for your bought tea party Jesus right? I won’t even be surprised if you wingies run him in 16 and win. America as we know her passed away yesterday.
Welcome to the new America where money talks and masses watch.

Uppereastside on June 6, 2012 at 5:41 PM

WHOA! I lurk here and comment seldom, but I could not resist thanking you, UES, for the bitters you just trickled into my cocktail.

How outraged are you that Obama is to raise ONE BILLION DOLLARS for his futile efforts at holding onto the White House? Just think, ONE BILLION DOLLARS, U.S. Doesn’t that just make your blood boil? LOL I didn’t think so! :D

:D Hopefully, he/she will have a chance to respond to my comment about how Obama is hoping to buy the presidential election with ONE BILLION DOLLARS before they are shown the door by security. I’m still waiting….

I’ve been reading these sour grapes all day, generally in the form of Walker outspending Barrett by 7-1. But that is far from the whole story. Walker spent $30-million; Barrett spent $4-million, which looks like 7-1 against. But the Unions also spent nearly $17-million solely against Walker. So we are already up to $21-million against. That is a far cry from the 7-1 bullsweat stories.

The total Walker race, by itself, is accounted at some $63-million. That means that Walker spent $30-million to defend against $33-million spent by his opposition.

If the money was reversed, Mr. Rendell, the Walker blow-out would have been bigger.

ss396 on June 6, 2012 at 5:58 PM

I’m sure that the democratics’ favorite Nazi stooge George Soros will release a statement shortly telling us how much he spent on the Wisconsin race as well, right?

The Democrats did not lose in Wisconsin because they got outspent. They got outspent because it was a loser cause.

I don’t think the doubt expressed by Rendel and other Democrat insiders is merely CYA. Had they thought this was a fight worth fighting, money and personnel would have poured into Wisconsin like soft serve into a cake cone. Obama would have been all over the place hogging the cameras and giving lectures on the history of the labor movement, while Biden would have been giving interviews in a Badgers cap and a bullhorn. But money and credibility are tight at the DNC these days, so they let Big Labor swing on this one. Don’t say I blame them. Now they can get a day or two of “Death of Democracy” soundbites and “the Plutocrat Party outspent us” rhetoric.

Actually, I agree but in a different way. I think that, had the unions waited longer in putting in their request for a recall and filing petitions, they would have done better. The lefties went for the symbolic 1-year point which meant that the special election would be held sometime in June. That gave all of the big $$ primary donors in the GOP who didn’t have a cause to throw money at a new “nominee” to support (think Sheldon Adelson not having Newt anymore but thinking, “hey, why don’t i throw some cash at this Walker guy…”). Also, they made it so that Scott Walker was the big news.

Had they waited to target Walker’s recall to coincide with the November general election, Scott Walker would have been page 6 news at best, Romney would be sucking all of the cash and air out of the room and the democratic recall challenger would have been on the ticket with Obama riding his coat tails. Barrett would have had a much better chance.

But hey, the lefties wanted their symbolic show of strength impotence and boy did they get it….